The Riverbank
The Riverbank is the first chapter in Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing campaign. The Survivors of Left 4 Dead 2 meet the Survivors of Left 4 Dead at Jimmy Gibbs Junior's racing stock car, which was taken from The Atrium in Dead Center. The Left 4 Dead Survivors inform the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors that the only way through is across the bridge, which is raised and doesn't have enough power to be lowered. The original Survivors inform them that if they can go around to the other side of the bridge, they can power up the generator to get across. Strategy Campaign You start out near Jimmy Gibbs' race car in front of a raised bridge. Either Francis or Zoey will greet you. Though conversations between the Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors vary, they nearly always end with the former telling the latter they need to get to the other side to lower the bridge. There's often a Magnum on the race car, and a couple melee weapons on the ground behind it, as well as the standard four first aid kits. Once you've grabbed your weapon of choice and medkit, turn around and look to your left. The small park area is bound to be swarming with Common Infected. There's a very high chance a Fallen Survivor will spawn close to you, so if you'd like to start off with some extra supplies turn off your flashlight and deliver some headshots with the Magnum or hits from a melee weapon. Clear out the area in whatever manner works best for you, though no matter what way you go about it staying away from the edge of the river is recommended so no one gets charged or ridden off to a watery grave. Once you reach the end of the park area, go across the street and into the stores. In one of them Tier 1 weapons will spawn, and in the bathrooms behind them there's a first aid cabinet. Travel up the stairs, and check the offices for any supplies, including foot lockers, as one tends to spawn in the rooms. Exit the hallway, making sure no Special Infected ambush you from that hole in the ceiling and enter the bar. The closet in the bar is another possible spawn point for a foot locker, so if you haven't found one, it's often a good idea to check. Even if there isn't a locker, the closet may also hold other goodies, like throwables or temporary healing items. Exit out into the alley. Chances are there's idle Common Infected milling about out here as well, so deal with them however you see fit. The alley itself is typically devoid of any items, so searching will often prove useless. Proceed forwards, make a U-turn, and advance. Watch out! There's not one, but two ''alarmed cars in the upper road. Avoiding these is of utmost importance as triggering one often results in triggering the second, and it's no fun to have two hordes on top of you at once. After a few boarded-up doors, you should be able to enter the apartments to your left. Travel through the room with the heavy duty lights, up the stairs and into the somewhat wrecked room. If you look to the opposite of the door leading outside, there's another staircase, while not leading anywhere, Tier 2 weapons often spawn up there, while the closet to the left of the staircase is yet another possible location for a foot locker to appear. Less frequently, the second floor has laser sights or an ammunition upgrade there as well. Needless to say, it's worth a look. When you're ready to move on, go through the aforementioned door and onto another upper road. The only way to proceed is through the park, which also more often than not is populated by Common Infected, this time in formal wear. If you go forward to the far side and turn left to the corner, around the tree is another possible spawn point for Tier 2 weapons, as well as throwables. Regardless of if you check for more items, you're going to have to pass by the wedding scene, which is to the right of the initial entrance to the park. Sooner or later, you're going to end up at the aforementioned wedding. Nice little family gathering, eh? Think again. There's a Witch right in the middle of everything, and a music player to the right of the chairs. Unless you just love being neck-deep in trouble, ''do not play the music! ''It eventually startles the Witch, who is also a Panic Event. As you know, a startled Witch and horde at the same time rarely ends well for the Survivors. If you absolutely must startle the Witch (for example, if you're playing with bots), there's typically a handful of gas cans, propane tanks, and oxygen tanks scattered around to help you kill her. No matter how you progressed through the wedding, there will be two tents with tables inside. These tents are frequently home to Tier 2 weapons, melee weapons, throwables, foot lockers, and less often, healing items. If you're lucky, there may be a defibrillator or grenade launcher laying around as well. After you've searched the tents and taken whatever you fancy, walk past the microphone and speaker setup and onto the street. Turn right and walk a short distance. To your left will be the safe room. Close the door, grab some ammo, and heal up if need be. Take a breath, and remember the smell of that fresh night air, because you're headed for The Underground! Survival *One of the most effective strategies would be holding '''on' the tents. They're easy to jump on, just use the boxes around. The M60, auto shotguns, or AKM are definitely not weapons of choice in this situation, you'd best be having multiple snipers on your team. With the exception of the occasional Common Infected, you will not be attacked from behind, and the Infected can be shot easily from a distance. However, two Tanks and ammo supplies ending tend to come at the same time. If this happens, you'd better be ready to restart the round. Just don't panic and try to do your best fighting off the towering inferno. If Common Infected are getting in your way on an ammo run, don't hesitate to throw a pipe bomb. Try to cover those who go for ammo. Melee is definitely not a sidearm to be used here, as of Magnum being way better for the snipers and the Dual Pistols doing a great job for those who aren't snipers. Notes * The Survivors from Left 4 Dead return in this chapter. * Depending on which Left 4 Dead Survivor is met at the beginning (Zoey or Francis), there are several differences in dialogue through the rest of the campaign. * It is random whether Zoey or Francis will be the one to say that they can't lower the bridge because it has no power. Louis will never appear as he's injured. * The music at the start of the campaign doesn't have a Southern tone like the rest of the game music, but rather, it has a creepy tone, which is a nod to the campaign music in the original game. Rather, the music is based on the music that would play at a party or a night club, seeing as the campaign has the theme of a "nightlife" city. * Frequent Tank spawn locations include in the stairwell of the first building (as noted below), in the alley after the bar, in the apartments, and at the wedding itself. ** A Tank frequently appears in the first stairwell in the first building you enter. This is a particularly dangerous location as the entire group is hemmed into the hallway and can not safely use fire on it or shoot at it easily without getting in each others' way. * The instrumentals for the Midnight Riders song that plays on the radio at the wedding gazebo bears a striking similarity to the instrumentals for the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, Tuesday's Gone. It also has some similarities to the instrumentals in the song "Remember A Time" by Story of the Year. * This is the level where you pass through a wedding, and most of the Infected there are wearing wedding clothes. There is a Witch bride, who spawns on a small platform every time. * The Witch Bride is a Panic Event. Startling or Cr0wning her will result in a horde attacking. **This Panic Event is completely avoidable. If the Survivors do not trigger the music, or startle the Witch, they can get past completely, since there's no actual barrier to the safe room, as opposed to a Crescendo Event. * Starting the wedding music in the presence of the Witch bride will agitate her much faster than normal and no matter what the distance. She will attack the Survivor that started the music if not attacked by anyone else between the time the music starts to the time she is startled. * The Witch music that plays when you near the bride is a mixture of the original theme and a sinister version of the common wedding song "Here Comes the Bride". * The Witch appears to become very easily startled if it is storming, which backs up the idea of Witches disliking storms, similar to Hard Rain. * The M60 may spawn in the first building you enter, though it is very rare. * Similar to The Concert, you can stand near the microphone near the end of the chapter and use vocalizations, and they will be heard through the speakers. * There is a way for both Survivors and Infected to get under the map in the first chapter, this will give you a huge advantage in versus as Infected. A demonstration can be shown here. * There doesn't appear to be a way for Jimmy Gibbs Jr's car to get to the bridge, as both ways of the road are blocked, or get out after the bridge is lowered, because there is a very large concrete wall blocking the path. * If Francis appears at the beginning, he may try to imply that the original Survivors are cops. This is a sort of running gag in Left 4 Dead where Francis attempts to get other people to help them faster - the Church Guy, John Slater and the Military. * This map utilizes the heavy rain storm effects used from Hard Rain. However, it lacks thunder and lighting, and the Survivors do not tell each other to stay together to avoid being split up. Microphone use will be less effective outdoors during the storm because the noise has a tendency to drown out voice chat. * Since an unknown update, the Survivors don't use any chapter-specific lines at all when approaching the wedding, and simply use their generic lines (when spotting the Witch, for example). References Category:Downloadable Content